It is the former president’s second visit to Georgia since Hurricane Helene slammed into Southeastern states last week.
Former President Donald Trump will join Georgia Governor Brian Kemp in the Peach State on Oct. 4 to receive a briefing on the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, which tore through Southeastern states last week, killing hundreds of people.
The latest visit by the former president comes just over a week after Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, before tearing a destructive path through Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia for several days, destroying buildings and prompting flash flooding.
The death toll currently stands at
200, although officials warn it could rise as search and rescue operations remain underway across multiple states.
Friday will mark the
second time this week that Trump has visited Georgia to assess the damage caused by the deadliest storm to hit the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The two men will visit Evans, a suburb northwest of Augusta, for the briefing before delivering remarks to the press at the Columbia Performing Arts Center, the Trump campaign said in a
statement.
No further details were provided about the upcoming visit, which will mark the first time Trump and Kemp have appeared together since before the 2020 election.
In Thomson, Georgia, a mother and her newborn twins were among those killed when a tree
crashed onto the roof of their trailer home.
The twins are the youngest known victims of last week’s storm, which also claimed the lives of young children and adults across multiple states.
Earlier this week, Kemp
extended Georgia’s state of emergency, allowing state agencies to allocate resources for relief efforts until Oct. 9.
Trump traveled to the city of Valdosta in the southern part of the state on Monday where he met with federal, state, and local officials as well as business owners impacted by Helene.
Trump arrived in Valdosta with what he
said were large semi-trucks filled with relief aid. Trump told a crowd of supporters that he would be speaking with billionaire businessman Elon Musk to get Starlink internet up and running in the area.
He also said he planned to distribute fuel and supplies to other affected states.
The GOP presidential nominee was not joined by Kemp for that visit but praised the governor for his leadership in the wake of the hurricane.
Vice President Kamala Harris
visited storm-damaged Agusta in Georgia on Wednesday to survey impacted areas and provide updates on the federal government’s response.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden also visited the state and
told reporters that it would likely cost “billions of dollars” to rebuild from the destruction left behind by Helene.
Biden, who was not joined by Kemp for the visit, also called on lawmakers to pass additional funding to respond to the damage.
Early
estimates from Moody’s Analytics suggest damage from last week’s hurricane could cost up to $34 billion, with property damage ranging from $15 billion to $26 billion.
“Congress has an obligation, it seems to me, to ensure that states have the resources they need,” Biden said while touring Ray City in Georgia.
Earlier in the week, Biden visited Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina to survey damage.
On Wednesday, the federal government
deployed 1,000 active-duty soldiers to assist with response and recovery efforts. The soldiers join over 6,000 National Guard personnel and 4,800 federal aid workers already assisting with response and recovery efforts across the impacted region.
The Associated Press, Reuters, and T.J. Muscaro contributed to this report.
